Berlin-based classical music streaming company Idagio has decided to bring their specialized service to listeners in the U.S. and Canada for the first time. The service stands out from others for its proprietary data model that gives listeners more thorough search options, a feature that accommodates to the classical music genre.
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The platform's data model was developed with musicologists so that fans can search with granular drill-downs in the metadata, for example by composer, by composition, by orchestra, by conductor or by soloist. This is a leading case for more detailed music discovery, an idea the Recording Academy has supported through its Give Fans The Credit initiative.
The service will cost $9.99 per month and will give access to millions of recordings of more than 130,000 compositions, now available globally except for China and Japan. The service also includes exclusives and expert playlists in Idagio's library. Streams are encoded with top quality audio and lossless formats are available. Its audio features were optimized for Sonos' golden ears smart speakers, billed "the smart speaker for music lovers."
Idagio has licensing deals in place with the major labels as well as thousands of independents and pays royalties on a unique "play-per-second system calculated for each individual use." Users will be able to access music via their desktop and mobile apps.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Enrich your life through classical music! IDAGIO, the leading streaming service for classical music, has launched in the US and Canada.<br>Start listening now on <a href="https://t.co/TTonthf3F4">https://t.co/TTonthf3F4</a>, iOS, Android, Sonos and Chromecast <a href="https://t.co/Dlq9rLweNJ">pic.twitter.com/Dlq9rLweNJ</a></p>— IDAGIO (@idagio_official) <a href="https://twitter.com/idagio_official/status/1044897060447834113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Founded in 2015 with more than $11 million, existing investors matched that in additional funds to finance the launch. The service, which claims a quarter million new registered users so far this year, was founded by internet entrepreneur Christoph Lange and Till Janczukowicz, producer, promoter and manager of GRAMMY winning conductors André Previn and Seiji Ozawa.
North America is a big market but with many smaller streaming services struggling, it seems natural to wonder how many people listen to classical music loyally. Radio association Classical Music Rising estimates public station listening at a minimum average of 190,000 — that means right now, and also at midnight. The organization declares that, "Nearly 11 million Americans tune in to classical music on public radio at least once every week."
"We are honored by the trust of our customers, musicians, labels and investors," said Janczukowicz. "We are looking forward to offering classical music lovers in North America the Idagio experience." It will be interesting to see the market response and with their new funding round, Janczukowicz insists Idagio.com is prepared to be patient.
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